Iceland – president re-elected unopposed

In Iceland, the incumbent president, Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, has been re-elected unopposed. The deadline for the submission of candidates was midnight on 23 May and no other candidates were nominated. So, President Grimsson is deemed re-elected and he will start his new term on 1 August.

President Grimsson used to be a representative of the left-wing People’s Alliance. Since the last parliamentary elections in May 2007, the current government is a coalition of the Independence Party and the Social Democratic Alliance. The Social Democratic Alliance includes the remnants of the People’s Alliance. So, there has been no cohabitation in Iceland since May 2007 – this is contrary to a previous post (apologies for misinformation).

President Grimsson was first elected in 1996 with 41.4% of the vote. In 2000 he was re-elected unopposed. In 2004 there was a contest and he won 85.6%.

As you all know, in practice the Icelandic president is purely a figurehead, even though the constitution seems to make the president the main political leader. However, President Grimsson used his veto power in controversial circumstances in June 2004, thus provoking a referendum. The government withdrew the offending bill before the referendum was held. Nonetheless, this was a highly controversial decision for many reasons and it also indicates that when a power exists on paper, then, eventually, circumstances will arise that lead to the power being invoked.

President Grimsson has a PhD in political science of the University of Manchester.

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